Homelessness in South Africa

Homelessness in South Africa dates back to the apartheid period.[1] Increasing unemployment, lack of affordable housing, social disintegration, and social and economic policies have all been identified as contributing factors to the issue.[2]

Some scholars argue that solutions to homelessness in South Africa lie more within the private sphere than in the legal and political spheres.[3]

There is no national census on homeless people in South Africa, researchers instead rely on individual studies of homeless persons in particular cities.[4]

In 2022, the South African homeless population was reported by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) to comprise a total of 55,719 individuals.[5]

One study found that three quarters of South African metropolitan municipalities viewed homelessness primarily as a social dependency issue, responding with social interventions. At the same time, homeless South Africans indicated that the most important thing the municipality could assist them with was employment and well-located affordable housing.[6]

History

Early history through the 1800s

In the 19th century the main issues for the colonies was of squatting and vagrancy after much of the land was taken by white people to be farmed. Mid 19th century, under the colonial rule efforts were made to remove non-white people from white owned property, causing the displacement and a large wandering population looking for work.[7]

The introduction of Cape's Vagrancy and Squatting Act (1878) and other legislation passed by the colonies, were enacted to change the status of vagrants or wanders living on the land into residential labour status to prevent any crime risks associated with the wandering population.[7]

Apartheid period

During the apartheid period, racial segregation and anti-black policies were used to preserve white rule of the country.[8] Zoning laws controlled movement and places of residence for black people, forcing them into black townships in the white-ruled cities.[9] Visible homelessness was not allowed on the streets, so those who were homeless due to apartheid policies moved into shack settlements.[7]

Natives Land Act 1913, known as the Black Land Act, legalised the use of racial distinction that denied rural black farmers access to land.[10] Formed forced 'scheduled areas' that prevented the buying and selling of land to make any profit. It encouraged segregation, controlled movement, and spatially segregated residence within urban areas, and expanded throughout the apartheid.[11]

From this piece of legislation, more policies and legislation of racial segregation were enacted, limiting areas for blacks to live, forcing them into townships. The Native Land Act was the first piece of legislation to enforce territorial segregation and was the beginning of racial segregation in institutionalising it into South African legislation.[12]

In 1927, the first township called Langa was founded in Cape Town. In the 1950s, townships of Nyanga and Guglethu were developed and increased in size.[13]

Severe housing shortages in 1968 led to overcrowding and people constructed informal illegal settlements throughout the cities.[13]

Causes

Homelessness is shaped by social and economic insecurity which is worsened by informal housing and lack of legislation by the government.[14] Financial pressure put on those living on the street is worsened as they have no ability to accumulate wealth, unlike the population living in shacks.[7]

Unemployment is known to contribute to homelessness.[15] South Africa has seen an improvement in its unemployment rate, with the national average dropping from 36.2% in 2014[16] to 31.9% in 2025.[17]

The South African economy is growing, and according to Statistics South Africa, it grew by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The growth was led by agriculture, finance, and trade on the supply (production) side of the economy. Household spending led growth on the demand (expenditure) side.[18]

High rates of migration into urban areas whereby the government is unable to cope with the influx.[19] Post-apartheid, free movement of non-white South Africans into areas that were restricted to them, resulting in not enough employment opportunities available.[20]

Prevalence

Demographics

The 2022 national census found that there were 55,719 homeless people in the country and that the metropolitan municipality with the largest proportion of South Africa's homeless population was Tshwane with 18.1% of all homeless people.[21]

Other municipalities with a significant share of the country's homeless population were The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (15.6%), The City of Cape Town (11.9%), and eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (10.1%).[21] Gauteng province had the largest number of homeless people with 25,384 recorded individuals and the Western Cape had the second largest homeless population with a total of 9,743 recorded individuals.[21]

Share of South African Homeless Population Across Major South African Cities (2022 Census)
City Percentage
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality 18.1%
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality 15.6%
City of Cape Town 11.9%
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality 10.1%

Those living on the streets are typically children or single adults, not families.[22] The street homeless population is predominantly black and male.[22] There is a higher prevalence of men on the street, while amongst those living in shacks, there is a larger female population. A profile of homeless people in Cape Town found that there were three times more males than females living in homeless shelters.[23]

In 2004, rural areas had a higher proportion of homeless than in cities whereby a larger percentage of rural population is poorer than metropolitan areas.[24]

The 2022 census showed that there was far more homelessness in non-metro areas as compared to metro regions. The rate of homelessness in non-metro areas was 25.9% - multiple times higher than many of South Africa's major metropolitan areas.[25]

Street Children

Large migration of street children across borders into South Africa originally come from other bordering countries such as Zimbabwe, this migration occurrence is an increasing situation facing homeless children.[22]  

A high percentage also come from urban townships compared to the higher rate of adults coming from rural areas. They are forced to leave as there is not enough resources to support them in poverty stricken living spaces.[26]

Street Children suffer physical and psychological abuse and often develop a substance use disorder.[27]

Advocacy response

'Surfers, Not Street Children' is an advocacy group based in Durban, set up to teach street kids how to surf in order to help them foster connectedness. Its aim is to help them with psychological issues, caused by difficult childhoods.[28]

NGO initiatives

Numerous non-profits have addressed the homeless situation in South Africa, through various methods.

In Cape Town, The Service Dining Rooms is an NGO that provides warm meals to the city's homeless population. In Cape Town CBD, the NGO operates a center that serves meals each weekday for R2. SDR, which relies entirely on public funding, owns the building out of which it operates, and has been running since 1935.[29]

National government initiatives

There is no specific governmental policy to protect the homeless. A 2003 report found that there was no direct national housing plan for people who lived on the streets, but policy falls predominantly under the Housing and the Social Welfare sectors.[14]

Public spending has gone towards supporting shelters for the homeless, however it is only remedial, and not a long-term solution.[26]

In 1994, after the end of apartheid, the then-new Department of Housing aimed to provide a million public houses over the proceeding five years. To help alleviate homelessness, the provision of shelter to transition into more permanent living space was implemented by the department of housing as a result of 1994 White Paper on a New Housing and Policy Strategy for South Africa.[14]

The social democratic ANC government of South Africa's first President, Nelson Mandela, implemented the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), a socio-economic policy, which oversaw many major advances in dealing with South Africa's most severe social problems, including those of inadequate and improper housing (created by the apartheid regime's urban apartheid system, including actions taken under the Group Areas Act.[30]

Affordable housing in South Africa is driven by initiatives at the national, provincial, and local government level.

Local government initiatives

Cape Town

Through its Rough Sleeper initiative, the City of Cape Town partners with local homeless shelters, to provide safe beds for those in need. In mid-2025, it was reported that the initiative had helped 5,000 individuals to get off the streets.[31]

The program also offers aid to fight substance abuse issues, obtain ID documents and social grants, and provide meals and personal development planning. It is also centered around reuniting families. The City partners with shelters across the metro to provide these services.[31]

Social Welfare

South Africa has one of the most extensive social welfare systems among the world's developing countries.[32] In 2019, an estimated 18 million people in South Africa received some form of social grant provided by the government.[33]

Literature

Child homelessness in South Africa has been portrayed in the novel Thirteen Cents by K. Sello Duiker.[34]

Homelessness in South African cities has been portrayed in art in a controversial piece titled Birds in a Cornfield.[35]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Mji, G. (2006). "Disability and homelessness: a personal journey from the margins to the centreand back". In Watermeyer B; Swaartz L; Lorenzo T; Schneider M; Priestley M (eds.). Disability and Social Change: A South African Agenda. South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council. pp. 350–360.
  3. ^ Nussbaum, Martha (1 September 2002). "Introduction to Comparative Constitutionalism". Chicago Journal of International Law. 3 (2): 429–434.
  4. ^ Speak, Suzanne (2005). "Relationship Between Children's Homelessness in Developing Countries and the Failure of Women's Rights Legislation". Housing, Theory and Society. 22 (3): 129–146. doi:10.1080/14036090510034581. S2CID 154844071.
  5. ^ "Homelessness in South Africa Grows Amid Ongoing Social Challenges". Stats SA. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  6. ^ Du Toit, Jacques Louis (2010). "Local metropolitan government responses to homelessness in South Africa". Development Southern Africa. 27: 111–128. doi:10.1080/03768350903519390. hdl:2263/14765. S2CID 218526847.
  7. ^ a b c d Cross, Catherine; Seager, John; Erasmus, Johan; Ward, Cathy; O'Donovan, Michael (2010). "Skeletons at the feast: A review of street homelessness in South Africa and other world regions". Development Southern Africa. 27 (1): 5–20. doi:10.1080/03768350903519291. ISSN 0376-835X. S2CID 154893800.
  8. ^ Olzak, Susan; Olivier, Johan L. (1998). "Racial Conflict and Protest in South Africa and the United States". European Sociological Review. 14 (3): 255–278. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.esr.a018239. ISSN 0266-7215. JSTOR 522683.
  9. ^ Christopher, A. J. (1997-10-01). "Racial land zoning in urban South Africa". Land Use Policy. 14 (4): 311–323. doi:10.1016/S0264-8377(97)00025-2. ISSN 0264-8377.
  10. ^ Banda, Sibo (2006-01-01). "Land Law Reform: A Comparative Analysis of South Africa'S Labour Tenancy Contract and Malawi'S Tenant Worker'S Contract" (PDF). Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal. 6 (2): 201–225. doi:10.1080/14729342.2006.11421472. ISSN 1472-9342. S2CID 55574097.
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  13. ^ a b International perspectives on homelessness. Polakow, Valerie., Guillean, Cindy. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. 2001. pp. 262–308. ISBN 0-313-00397-1. OCLC 50816760.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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  15. ^ Steen, Adam; Mackenzie, David; McCormack, Darcy (2012). "Homelessness and unemployment: Understanding the connection and breaking the cycle" (PDF). Swinburne Institute for Social Research Swinburne University.
  16. ^ OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2018, Issue 2. OECD Economic Outlook. 2018. pp. 187–189. doi:10.1787/eco_outlook-v2018-2-en. ISBN 978-92-64-30872-5. S2CID 239604465. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
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  18. ^ "SA economy grows in the fourth quarter". Stats SA. 4 March 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  19. ^ Mangayi, Lukwikilu Credo (2017-05-03). "'Not just numbers!' Homeless people as potential economic contributors in Tshwane". Development Southern Africa. 34 (4): 450–467. doi:10.1080/0376835x.2017.1310023. ISSN 0376-835X. S2CID 157436731.
  20. ^ Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa. (2018). "Informal Settlements and Human Rights in South Africa".
  21. ^ a b c "Census 2022: Statistical Release" (PDF). statssa.gov.za. 10 October 2023. p. 63. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  22. ^ a b c Kok, Pieter; Cross, Catherine; Roux, Niël (2010). "Towards a demographic profile of the street homeless in South Africa". Development Southern Africa. 27 (1): 21–37. doi:10.1080/03768350903519309. ISSN 0376-835X. S2CID 154587498.
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  27. ^ Hills, Frances; Meyer-Weitz, Anna; Asante, Kwaku Oppong (2016). "The lived experiences of street children in Durban, South Africa: Violence, substance use, and resilience". International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 11 (1) 30302. doi:10.3402/qhw.v11.30302. ISSN 1748-2631. PMC 4904070. PMID 27291160.
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  30. ^ "DHS FAQ". The Department of Human Settlements. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
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  32. ^ Goldblatt, Beth (November 2005). "Gender and social assistance in the first decade of democracy: A case study of South Africa's Child Support Grant". Politikon. 32 (2): 239–257. doi:10.1080/02589340500353581. ISSN 0258-9346. S2CID 145625059.
  33. ^ Magubane, Khulekani. "SA grants system on par with the world's best, says dept of social development". Fin24. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  34. ^ Pucherova, Dobrota (2009). "Re-Imagining the Other: The Politics of Friendship in Three Twenty-First Century South African Novels". Journal of Southern African Studies. 35 (4): 929–943. doi:10.1080/03057070903314218. JSTOR 40600038. S2CID 144445871.
  35. ^ Atwater, Deborah F.; Herndon, Sandra L. (2003). "The use of public space as cultural communicator: How museums reconstruct and reconnect cultural memory". In Ronald L. Jackson II; Elaine B. Richardson (eds.). Understanding African American Rhetoric: Classical Origins to Contemporary Innovations. New York: Routledge. p. 69.
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